Here's Why You Can't Fall Asleep

[Anderson]

Audio version of this post:

It's 11:30 PM. The day is winding down, and you head to bed. As usual, you start scrolling through TikTok, hoping to unwind. But after a while, boredom sets in, and you put down your phone, genuinely trying to sleep. That’s when it happens—your mind floods with random thoughts. You think about old memories, what you could have said to that jerk ten years ago, how you could have beaten that guy in the competition you lost, and what you would change if you could redo your past failures. You fight to push these thoughts away to finally relax and sleep, but it’s no use. You toss and turn, flipping your pillow, trying to find comfort.

Suddenly, at 3 AM, inspiration and motivation hit. You make a firm decision to change your life. You promise yourself that you’ll wake up at 7 AM, restore your sleep schedule, sign up for the gym, stop procrastinating, start studying hard, earn millions, and roll up to your college in a Lamborghini, showing everyone what you’re worth. Your life will never be the same once you wake up. You’re so determined that you grab your phone and write down all the resolutions you’ll follow from now on. But sleep still eludes you, and with your phone in hand, you decide to scroll a bit more until you get sleepy. Hours pass, and eventually, you put down your phone and finally drift off to sleep.

Then comes the big moment - your alarm rings at 7 AM, signaling the start of your new life. But you’re in such a daze that you barely remember falling asleep. You turn off the alarm, planning to nap for just another hour. When you wake up, it’s 2 PM. The night’s motivation and plans for life changes have vanished. You pick up your phone or sit at your computer, and the cycle repeats. I bet everyone has experienced this at some point.

When trying to sleep, I was just like you, watching countless YouTube videos on military sleep techniques. But those who’ve never dodged the army know you can fall asleep perfectly fine without them. Personally, I love sleeping so much that I often skipped school and arrived at college by the third or fourth period. I even napped during exams.

But why is it that I can’t fall asleep at night? Let's figure this out. Today, you'll learn how to fall asleep in one minute, why you can’t wake up on weekdays but wake up at the crack of dawn on weekends, and how to reset your sleep schedule in a single day, even if you work night shifts. Plus, I’ll explain why motivation hits at 3 AM and how to always get a good night's sleep.

Sleep - no need to explain it. You've read the children’s encyclopedia and the school's biology textbook. Sleep is one of the most vital needs of your body, on par with food. You can go a day or two without it, but beyond that, it gets tough.

But how do you sleep efficiently and get enough rest in a short time? We've all had those mornings when mom wakes you up for work at 7 AM, but you haven’t slept well at all, and the desire to get up is nonexistent. Who even decided that work should start early in the morning? You think to yourself, "I'll catch up on sleep over the weekend."

Come the weekend, you wake up on Saturday morning at 8 AM, bright and early, and sit at your computer with your Discord buddies, with the desire to sleep in gone. But why does this happen? It all comes down to sleep phases.

For us, sleep feels like a sudden plunge into oblivion with uncontrollable dreams we usually forget by morning.

Sleep is cyclical and consists of phases. You’ve probably heard this before. First comes the slow-wave sleep phase, divided into three stages: light sleep (N1 and N2), from which you can easily wake up without feeling groggy. These stages take about half an hour. That's why power naps are recommended to last no more than 30 minutes - any longer, and you enter the deep sleep stage (N3).

During N3, your body undergoes major rest and recovery, including immune system strengthening and other vital functions. Waking someone in this deep sleep stage is challenging, but if you nap for an hour and a half and hit this stage, you'll wake up disoriented and sweaty.

After slow-wave sleep, your brain speeds up, entering the rapid eye movement (REM) sleep phase. During REM sleep, you have the most vivid dreams, and your eyes move rapidly as if watching the dream. One sleep cycle lasts about 90 minutes and then repeats. During a typical eight-hour sleep, you go through about five of these cycles. Toward morning, the light sleep phases become longer, which is why we remember our last dream best. Your body becomes more active and sensitive as it prepares to wake up.

The answer to why you wake up early on weekends lies in your weekday habits. During the week, you stay up till 3 AM scrolling TikTok or doing whatever, and your phone wakes you up in the middle of a deep sleep phase, disrupting your cycle. But on weekends, you sleep soundly, and the morning light or another stimulus wakes you during a light sleep phase, making waking up easier. So, we've covered sleep phases.

But why does motivation hit at night and vanish by morning? It’s simple - during the day, you're bombarded with noise, people, and digital distractions. At night, everything quiets down, giving your thoughts a chance to surface. Nighttime becomes the only time for self-reflection without work or school distractions. This mental excitement is why night motivation strikes and keeps you awake.

Another reason is hormones. The hormone responsible for making you sleepy is adenosine. Imagine it like a battery charge - the higher the concentration of adenosine in your brain, the sleepier you get. When it peaks, you’ll fall asleep no matter where you are. Melatonin, another sleep hormone, signals your body that it's dark and time to sleep. Instead of relying on sleep aids or unproven supplements, grab some melatonin from the pharmacy. It’s cheap and available over the counter.

To reset your sleep schedule, skip the dubious tips and focus on one day. Let’s say it’s 4 AM, and you’ve just finished a gaming session and scrolled through TikTok. To reset, don’t sleep. Tough it out for one day. Stay awake until 10 PM. I’ve done it while working night shifts, so I know you can too. It will be hard, especially between 4 and 7 AM, but if you distract yourself and power through, you'll reset your clock. Then, go to bed at 10 PM and let your body naturally fall asleep.

Now, about different sleep patterns. While the typical recommendation is eight hours of sleep at night, there are other ways to manage sleep. Leonardo da Vinci and Nikola Tesla reportedly slept for only a few hours a day. There’s monophasic sleep (one block of sleep), biphasic sleep (a long sleep at night and a nap during the day), and polyphasic sleep (several shorter sleep periods throughout the day). If you’ve ever come home from work and napped for an hour or so, you’ve experienced biphasic sleep. It’s not uncommon, and it’s how I managed sleep during work hours.

One trick to enhance a nap is the “coffee nap.” Drink a coffee before a 20-minute nap. By the time you wake up, the caffeine kicks in, and you feel more alert. Just don’t nap longer than 30 minutes, or you’ll enter deep sleep and wake up groggy.

Polyphasic sleep involves multiple sleep periods throughout the day. It’s challenging but can be effective for those with irregular schedules. 

Lastly, if you struggle to fall asleep, try this foolproof method. Open a window to cool the room, take melatonin, and avoid screens. Take a warm bath, then lie down and look up at the top corner of your room. Relax and let your eyes follow the imagined path to sleep. This method helps you drift off quickly. If all else fails, use the one-day reset strategy.

Remember, a consistent sleep schedule is crucial. Prioritise sleep over late-night distractions, and your body will thank you.

Sleep well, everyone.